Cambodia Spends 6 Mln USD in 2010 for HIV/AIDS Treatment

2010-09-25
Xinhua
Web Editor: Gongming

Cambodia spends approximately six million U.S. dollars for HIV/AIDS treatment through providing of anti-retroviral drugs, a senior official of HIV/AIDS authority said Saturday.

Mean Chhiv Vun, director of National Center for HIV/AIDS Dermatology and STI said the government has approved a total amount of 6 million U.S. dollars for buying anti-retroviral drugs to help people with HIV/AIDS.

He said, as of June this year, there were 40,039 people living with HIV/AIDS who received the drugs, among them 3,881 were children.

Females stand at 52.5 percent of all people living with HIV/ AIDS.

The anti-retroviral drugs are provided to the victims, the adults, by the disease at 49 health clinics, while children can access such drugs at other 32 separate health clinics across the country, Mean Chhiv Vun said.

Cambodia began providing such drugs in 2001 during which there were only 71 people living with HIV/AIDS received ARV.

Cambodia has been recognized in the region as a success story for having significantly reduced its HIV prevalence rate. New estimates show that HIV prevalence among adults aged 15 to 49 has decreased to an estimated 0.7 percent in 2009 from 2 percent in 1998.

According to the government report, in 2002, there were 250 Cambodians received ARV, 1,700 people in 2003 and 8,500 in 2005.

Nearly everyone who is HIV positive is receiving the AIDS treatment they need due the efforts of the Royal Government of Cambodia and its development partners.